The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday called for Department of Health Minister (DOH) Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁) to step down if he cannot bring the enterovirus outbreak under control.
“The Cabinet should do something about it. If not, Lin should take responsibility and resign,” DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) told a press conference.
Yeh also brought up remarks Lin made two weeks ago, when he said the “enterovirus was out of control and all we can do is pray.”
Lin later apologized for the comment.
As of Tuesday, 245 serious enterovirus cases, including eight fatalities, had been identified this year. Most cases have been children under the age of five.
The Cabinet activated an epidemic emergency response center on earlier this month to deal with the outbreak.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) suggested that the age group affected by the outbreak could start expanding and urged Lin “not to pray any more but to begin making crucial decisions.”
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and Lin Fang-yue could not understand how parents feel because neither of them have young children.
DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to get involved.
“It seems to me that the Cabinet cannot handle this. The officials involved have no idea what they are doing. I think the president should help,” Tien said.
Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) questioned Lin Fang-yue’s statement on Monday that the outbreak was beginning to subside, asking whether the fact that no new cases had been reported over the weekend was only because epidemic control personnel were not in their offices.
If so, the DOH should clarify the situation immediately, he said.
The enterovirus outbreak began in the south earlier this year and has spread northward.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
RSS